Search found 65 matches
- April 13th, 2010, 10:59 pm
- Forum: Books
- Topic: Bestsellers that don't live up to the hype
- Replies: 29
- Views: 11526
Re: Bestsellers that don't live up to the hype
The people in Honors English this year had to read The Inheritance of Loss and practically every single one of them hated it. I think they thought it was just really pretentious. Agreed. It had one of those new-age titles and was a complete snooze. I just finished Roberto Bolaño's 2666 . Nine-hundr...
- April 11th, 2010, 11:32 pm
- Forum: Books
- Topic: Bestsellers that don't live up to the hype
- Replies: 29
- Views: 11526
Re: Bestsellers that don't live up to the hype
I really didn't like Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. The story crept along, the main character was pathetic (and not in a good way), and if I heard one more word about Trujillo I would have started shrieking. What made this book a winner I have no idea.
- April 11th, 2010, 1:14 pm
- Forum: Books
- Topic: Start with THE HOBBIT or FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING?
- Replies: 85
- Views: 37440
Re: Start with THE HOBBIT or FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING?
Be warned that Tolkein got the LOTR trilogy published without editorial input, and it shows. Expect slow writing, passages that could be yanked out entirely, and writing that is, well, not great.
- April 11th, 2010, 1:53 am
- Forum: Books
- Topic: Why do you reread books?
- Replies: 28
- Views: 13984
Re: Why do you reread books?
I only reread Ulysses. Joyce manages to leave an impression of something more than is there on the page.
- April 11th, 2010, 1:49 am
- Forum: Books
- Topic: The Time Traveler's Wife was painful to read
- Replies: 7
- Views: 3410
Re: The Time Traveler's Wife was painful to read
Didn't do anything for me because everybody was forced by circumstance to be passive. She was on the proverbial widow's walk staring out to sea waiting for him to reappear. It wasn't far into the read that I wanted to shout "I get it, I get it already! Make something happen!" Ugh.
- April 8th, 2010, 6:29 pm
- Forum: Books
- Topic: What are you reading now?
- Replies: 528
- Views: 310043
Re: What are you reading now?
Finished John Irving's Last Night in Twisted River and Toni Morrison's Sula and just started Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin. Still a few hours to go in the audiobook of Roberto Bolano's 2666, and then I think I'll get his Savage Detectives.
- April 8th, 2010, 6:26 pm
- Forum: Finding An Agent
- Topic: Question about manuscript readers
- Replies: 17
- Views: 6693
Re: Question about manuscript readers
@ Margo: any chance I can mooch some of your time? =D @ Lorelei: Maybe it's the area, but the average person here doesn't seem to read much. Most of them have never heard of Ibsen, Camus, and some went as far as to not know who Agatha Christie was. Then there are those who, like Ink said, would rat...
- April 8th, 2010, 3:59 pm
- Forum: Finding An Agent
- Topic: Question about manuscript readers
- Replies: 17
- Views: 6693
Re: Question about manuscript readers
Wow, a problem I didn't know existed. I've never had a beta reader quit before the end.
- March 25th, 2010, 1:09 pm
- Forum: Books
- Topic: Which book have you read the most number of times?
- Replies: 90
- Views: 31469
Re: Which book have you read the most number of times?
James Joyce's Ulysses. There's something new in that book every time I open it.
- March 20th, 2010, 2:53 am
- Forum: Finding An Agent
- Topic: Question on Etiquite...
- Replies: 12
- Views: 4595
Re: Question on Etiquite...
And whatever you do, spell "etiquette" correctly.
- March 13th, 2010, 12:18 pm
- Forum: Writing
- Topic: The importance (and difficulty) of gestures
- Replies: 55
- Views: 48584
Re: The importance (and difficulty) of gestures
Make the situation clearer and the drama bigger. Use the story itself. If the scene is clear and the drama is strong, the reader will know what the character is feeling, without all the shrugging, smirking, etc. The characters' actions and reactions will be clear, and their gestures will be unnecess...
- March 13th, 2010, 12:13 pm
- Forum: Books
- Topic: TWILIGHT - thoughts?
- Replies: 107
- Views: 47129
Re: TWILIGHT - thoughts?
This line bothers the grown-ups.Ishta wrote:And now feel free to lambast me for saying that regardless of our personal life choices, women the world over really do have a secret daddy complex. :-)
- March 5th, 2010, 11:46 am
- Forum: Finding An Agent
- Topic: Questions for agents
- Replies: 3
- Views: 2088
Re: Questions for agents
Think of the three major changes you would least like to make to your book. Ask the agent when he/she will ask you to make those changes. Consider now whether you will be willing to make them. In my experience with three agents, they will eventually ask for those changes. Will your head explode? For...
- March 3rd, 2010, 2:39 pm
- Forum: Books
- Topic: TWILIGHT - thoughts?
- Replies: 107
- Views: 47129
Re: TWILIGHT - thoughts?
Sorry Lorelei, but "the lady doth protest too much, methinks." Hey, I'm old, I've read almost nothing but literary fiction for twenty years, I've got the graduate degree in writing, and I don't like Ms. Meyer's work. As a reader I don't like poor writing, I don't like average writing, and...
- March 3rd, 2010, 12:20 am
- Forum: Finding An Agent
- Topic: How do you stop taking rejection personally?
- Replies: 37
- Views: 16597
Re: How do you stop taking rejection personally?
Putting aside the self-confidence and supportive talk, which is all very nice... Explore every possibility. Have you gotten some good, hard criticism? Have you joined a tough writing group? Gone to some work-oriented conferences and read your work to your peers and professional workshop leaders? Tak...